Infinite
by BellsConlon
Summary: And in that moment, I swear they were infinite. How James and Lily came to be- a tale of seventh year friendship, tragedy, change, war, and love. Hard T for language and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**Infinite**

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**Massive author's note:**

**Welcome, readers. This is my first Harry Potter fic but hardly my first delve into the world of Harry Potter- think of the biggest Harry Potter fan you know and multiply it and than you get me. I'm a nerd. Hugely so.**

**So this is chapter one. Bit short, kind of an introduction/preview of sorts. Expect the next chapter up within the week- I try to be writing 2-3 chapters a head.**

**So anyway:**

**I support JoRo's statement that Hogwarts has about 1000 students. I know the Wizarding World is not nearly as large as the human population, but I don't think the student body is as small as the movie makes it out to be; I've done extra work on movies, the production staff would have gone _nuts _if they had to have 1000 student extras. ANYWAY, so if there are around 1000 students, that's 250 a house, 63 kids a year. 5-6 students to a dorm, 12 dorms a year. Phew. Everyone get that?****When I visualized James in my head, I kept thinking of this actor and I couldn't put a name to the face until I was rewatching the trailer for the upcoming Romeo and Juliet and there he was: Douglas Booth. There's one picture in particular that I always go back to- I'll post the link on my profile.**

**And so, onto the story! I love seeing all the favorites and follows, but reviews are a writer's bread and butter. So please, do share your thoughts!**

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**Chapter One**

_May 31, 1977_

_Sixth Year_

Lily Evans adjusted her school kilt and looked both ways before dashing out of the broom cupboard, her heart hammering as she made her way down the fourth floor corridor. The last thing she needed was for Filch or Mrs. Norris to catch her dashing back to her dorm after-hours. Getting caught after a snob by a _cat, _that would be a story for the girls.

She stopped suddenly, her eyes perking up, convinced she heart Filch's familiar wheezing coming from further down the hall. She pressed herself up against the nearest wall, feeling the cold stone dig into her back, holding her breath in anxious anticipation. She was about to resume inching down the hall, en route to the Gryffindor common room, when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She promptly let out a loud shriek.

_"James!"_

She felt James' hand press over her mouth and the cool silky feel of the Invisibility Cloak slip around her moments before Filch burst around the bend, his eyes darting wildly around the empty corridor, looking for the culprit behind the outburst.

"I love when you scream my name, Evans," James Potter whispered smoothly into Lily's ears, her knees nearly buckling at the husky draw of his voice. "But I prefer to do it when dear old Filch isn't around."

Lily stood frozen until Filch despondently left the hall (_must've been the damn ghosts) _before turning around sharply to gaze up at James with an indignant look. He looked down at her with a bemused (and utterly satisfied) smirk. (She hated being so short; Lily, at 5'5'', just came up to James' shoulder).

"I told you to wait 5 minutes before you left. We can't be seen getting back to the common room at the same time."

"Am I your dirty little secret, Evans? Hot."

"_I'm serious, _James. We can't be seen together and _you _can't be caught out after-hours. Do you really want a detention the morning of our last day?"

James considered this. "Would be a new personal best," he mused. "And for someone who is so keen to be rid of me, you don't seem to be making a move to go anyway anytime soon, Miss Prefect."

Lily blushed deeply, fully aware just how close their bodies were hidden under the clock. She made a move to take a step back and away but not before James' arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

"I have to finish packing," she breathed as he bent down to press his forehead to hers. "Train leaves at 11 and I'm nowhere near done."

"And I'm nowhere near done with you, Evans," James replied lowly before moving to kiss her neck. Lily felt her eyes flutter shut at the sensation but she gathered what little will power he had yet to take, placed her hands firmly on his chest (Merlin, _was he built) _gave him a slight push.

"You had your fill of me tonight," Lily said a bit too forcefully. He had cornered her after dinner as she was making her way back to the Common Room with Marlene and Mary and convinced her to meet him in the fourth floor cupboard. And somehow, against her better judgement, she agreed.

"I haven't nearly had my fill of you," James said, toying with the ends of her red hair that hung down well past her shoulder blades. "It was a rather abrupt ending in the cupboard back there."

"If you want a shag, find someone else," Lily said, stepping out from under the clock. James pulled it off his head and rumpled his hair, leaving a strange sight should anyone else come down the hall- James Potter's floating head (_with his hair all tousled like he just...snap _out _of it, Lily!) _"This is purely a no-strings, non-sexual one-in-a-while engagement for when I need to blow off some steam."

"A three months long, everyday engagement?" James cocked an eyebrow. "Not that I'm complaining, Evans, you're just sending me mixed signals here."

"I thought James Potter didn't date," she through back, crossing her arms over her blouse. The top buttons were open and the current position of her arms pushed her chest up. James swallowed hard and was grateful that the cloak was covering his pants.

"Like you said, this is strictly business," James reminded. Lily let out an exhasperated sigh and turned, making her way back to the dormitory.

* * *

"Mate, where have you been?" Sirius Black was laying on his bed, one hand propping up his head, the other holding his wand as he set a piece of parchment on fire, reassembled it, and set it on fire again. "I thought we were bewitching all the suits of armor to tap dance when Filch went to clean them tomorrow."

James pulled off the invisibility cloak and threw it on top of his trunk (he had yet to pack as well). He fell back onto his own bed.

"Moony, I will actually pay you to organize all my bloody crap," James said. Remus Lupin looked up from his novel, perused the state of James' belongings- spread out all over the room- and snorted.

"I would say that was a no," Sirius said with a laugh. James rolled his eyes and looked to his left at Peter's bed.

"Where's Wormtail?" he asked. Sirius waved his wand and the covers flew back, revealing a sleeping Peter Pettigrew, curled up into a ball with his thumb in his mouth. Sirius waved his wand again, covering the sleeping sixth year back up, and added, "And no way in hell am I packing up for you. I've already got to worry about packing up my room when I get back to Grimmauld Place."

"I still have yet to clear that with my parents," James replied, "so when you show up with all your stuff and my dad drops dead when he realizes you're moving in, don't blame me."

"Even though it will actually be your fault," Sirius said. "But seriously, mate, where were you? Who was she? Last minute shag before we leave this dump for the summer?"

"It's not a dump," James said with a roll of his eyes. "And as for the girl...wouldn't you like to know?"

Sirius shrugged. "Probably my sloppy seconds, anyway," he said with a grin. "I was honored to be Meghan Rogers' final shag on Hogwarts grounds earlier today."

"The seventh year Hufflepuff with the huge-"

"-tits? Yep. She'll certainly remember her final..moments at Hogwarts."

"You're sick, mate. Really."

* * *

When Lily came back into her dormitory after her rendez-vous with James, five faces turned to look up her expectantly. Three were her closest friends at Hogwarts, the other two roommates sweet girls- Chloe Armaund and Grace Owens- but Lily wasn't as close with them. As was to be expected; there were over 35 girls in her year, she wasn't going to graduate knowing everyone's most intimate secrets.

Mary McDonald, Marlene McKinnon, and Celia Vance- Emmaline's younger sister- hounded her the minute she sat on her bed.

"Lily's got a bloke! Finally! You've needed a good shag," Mary exclaimed excitedly (not that she was one to talk- her current flavor of the month was the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team).

"_Why _is everyone convinced I'm some kind of trollop?" Lily asked with a huff, pulling her blouse and kilt off and rooting around her trunk for a clean nightshirt. "Did snogging go out of style and I just missed the memo?"

"No, Mary just has to live vicariously through you because she's bored with Jimmy already," Celia said, petting her cat, Marigold, who had just jumped onto her lap. "And I haven't gotten any in almost two months, so spill. I want details."

"Leave her alone, why don't you," Marlene suggested, neatly folding a blouse before closing and locking her trunk with a tap of her wand. Organized, level-headed, and utterly in love with her boyfriend of 3 years, a graduating seventh year called Charlie O'Ryan, Marlene often proved to be the mediator when the discussion turned to boys. "So Lily has a bloke. Leave it be."

"Thank you," Lily replied, picking up her wand and waving it once- the few remaining items she had yet to organize flew into her trunk, waiting for her sheets and nightshirt to be added in the morning before the luggage was taken to the station (so maybe she had exaggerated to James exactly how much packing she had to finish- she needed an excuse to get out of the cupboard before her hormones took over her brain and she remained there all night). "Plus, we leave for summer holiday tomorrow. So even if there was a bloke and I wasn't just out late patrolling, I wouldn't be seeing him anyway."

"Prefects have off duty tonight, Jimmy said so," Mary said knowingly. "And that is the beauty of being seventeen now, you can just Apparate should the..._need _arise to see this mystery man."

"Ew, Mary, you trollop!" Celia squealed. "That makes Lily sound so cheap!"

"Charlie Apparated to visit me all the time last holiday," Marlene said, settling down into her bed.

"That's different, you two are the model of what couples aspire to be, Mary's talking about like, a sex call, or something," came Celia's reply.

"The term is _booty call, _Celia. Or, scientifically, _sex. _I know it scares you."

"Oh, shove it, Mary."

Lily laughed at her friends antics but yawned loudly; she looked over to see that Chloe had dozed off and Grace was drawing the curtains around her own bed. Lily leaned over to look at the time on her bedside clock: it read almost half past midnight.

"Alright, ladies, final night as sixth years!"

It was quite odd to think that in a year's time, she'd be engaged to James Potter. But that's a story for another day.

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**Well than.**

**Thoughts?**

**More to come.**

**xo Bells**


	2. Chapter 2

**Infinite**

**Chapter Two**

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**Distribution: **Links only- please DM to ask for approval.

**Disclaimer: **JoRo owns it all. This is purely because I'm a fangirl with no life.

**Rights: **Any OC's are mine. The rest is Jo's.

**NOTE: I fully intended on making this a longer chapter, but broke it apart when I got behind on my writing during my exams. As promised, I'm posting every 2 weeks! Yay meeting goals!**

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**Chapter Two**

_August 25, 1977_

Lily Evans was bored.

While the Muggles her age celebrated one last summer of adolescence (being a legal adult at eighteen- _weird_), Lily spent most the summer alternating between sleeping and reading in her room to sleeping and reading in the garden, all the while avoiding Petunia and her _ghastly _new fiancé Vernon Dursley and bewitching her window as to not allow Severus' owl, Hades, through the window (she had had to do something similar to her window at school as well- over a year since she firmly and not so politely ended their friendship and the guy just could _not _take a hint).

She had tried, at the beginning of summer, to be studious in preparation for the upcoming year of scholastic hell that led up the N.E.W.T. examinations, but that had quickly failed. Her foray into romance novels had proved fleeting, science fiction was dismally boring. She had moved on to biographies of historical witches and wizard but fell asleep after the first chapter. Erotica made her feel a bit like her batty old neighbor, Mrs. Kincade and left her feeling sad, lonely, and physically frustrated, especially after the hero of the story was described as having "a mop of messy black hair."

Yes, this is what her life had been reduced to.

Her barn owl, Helena, cooed from her cage in the corner of Lily's room, bringing Lily's attention to the stately owl perched on her open windowsill.

She pushed herself out of bed and went over to the bird, removing the letter from its leg and offering it a treat before it went on its way. She noted the Hogwarts seal on the front of the letter. She picked up the glass of iced tea sitting on her bedside table before settling back down on her bed to read.

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_ I am pleased, along with the rest of the staff, to inform you of your appointment to the position of Head Girl of Hogwarts for the coming school year. You work the past two years as a Gryffindor prefect has been commendable; I feel quite confident in your abilities to lead the student staff and work in conjunction with the House heads to enforce what discipline you can and keep order in our lovely little corner of chaos._

_ Your partner this year, well, Miss Evans, I trust you to keep him in check- James Potter-_

Lily's mouth, upon reading James' name, fell wide open, depositing a swallow of iced tea straight onto her lap. Swearing loudly, she fumbled for her wand, dried the front of her shirt, and went back to reading, her temperature rising.

_Your partner this year, well, Miss Evans, I trust you to keep him in check- James Potter-_

_despite his intelligence, has always been bit of a spitfire, no? I encourage the two of you to get to know each other a bit better, as you will be working closely in the coming semesters._

_ In such times as we are, with the threat of a great evil looming, protection of our students is of the utmost importance. Therefore, I ask you to arrive at the castle on September 1 as promptly as possible: I have arranged for you and Mr. Potter to Apparate into Hogsmeade at a quarter til noon on September 1 to come and settle in before the rest of the school arrives- a school house elf will come to collect your belongs at the same time, please inform your parents so they are not alarmed. This also allows you to be briefed, along with the rest of the faculty, on the new security measures the Ministry and I have decided to impliment this coming year._

_ Enjoy these last days of summer!_

_ Fondly,_

_ Albus Dumbledore_

The mention of the "threat of a great evil looming" shook Lily a bit. The name 'Voldemort' and the terms 'Death Eaters' and 'pureblood supremacy' had become quite colloquial in the last three years or so, but Lily had always assumed it was just an underground rebel movement that the Ministry would soon stamp out. It wasn't until last fall when the murders began that Lily began to realize the true extent of the looming danger. And the summer headlines of the _Prophet_, along with the leaflet her family had received (_So You're A Muggle Connected to the Wizarding World: Safety Precautions) _was not easing the ball of fear that had begun to coil in the pit of her stomach.

She folded the letter, shaking her head in attempt to clear her thoughts of such dark subjects, and instead chose to allow a swell of pride to envelop her as she smiled: Head Girl. Her hard work over the past six years had certainly paid off. But _James? _Where on Earth had that come from?

She made move to go downstairs and tell her parents the good news before another tap to her window changed her focus: it was a familiar owl, one that had been to her house at least once a week for the entirety of the summer. She opened the window and rather roughly yanked off the letter before tossing the owl back out without even so much as a treat. Poor bird, but she was annoyed with its owner.

She rolled her eyes at the "_Evans" _scrawled on the front of the folded bit of parchment and opened it to find another enlightening letter from James.

_Evans-_

_ I got my letter before you, I think, since I love in an actual town and not in the middle of bumblefuck._

_ Dumbledore reckons we should __get to know each other better __since we'll be __working closely__ and all. Didn't realize he had a kinky side._

_ In all seriousness, Evans, you've been ignoring my letters and I know you miss me. I saw how you reacted that day at King's Cross._

Lily shivered just thinking about it. She had just come through the barrier, her trolley in front of her, looking through the crowds of people for her parents, when she felt fingers ghost up her arm and felt someone's breath on the back of her neck. James had leaned close, whispered something _extraordinary _X-rated and than left her standing there, frustrated at his gall and frustrated in _other ways_ as well.

_I've had a boring summer, what with Sirius shagging anything in site and me sitting here, just waiting for you to come visit me. I'm serious, Evans, let's become exclusive fooling-around-buddies. I tried with some other village girls but they're just not you._

God, he was such a whore. Yet so hot. The hair. The arms. Those _hands..._

_So feel free to drop by, Evans, or else I'll just see you when we move into our new quarters. You know, the special private ones that magically appear in whatever House the news Heads are from._

_ James_

As if possessed by the spirit of someone much bolder than she, Lily stood, checked herself once in the mirror. Her hair was a frizzy red mess and she yanked it up into a ponytail before casting a Patronous, the doe looking up at her with seemingly judgmental eye: Lily huffed, said "I'm coming over, you arse," before the doe disappeared.

She stomped down the stairs, calling, "Mum, Dad, I'm going out, to a friend's! Will send an owl if I decide to stay over!" No need to mention the gender of said friend.

Lily poked her head into the sitting room, where her father was reading the paper, her mother engrossed in a novel, and Petunia petulantly watching the news report.

"Have fun, Flower," her father said, looking up to give her a small smile. Petunia gaped.

"Daddy, she's _seventeen,_ and you're just letting her go, no questions asked?"

"Technically, Tuney, I _am _a legal adult," Lily reminded.

"Legally a _freak," _Petunia shot back. Mrs. Evans looked up sharply at her eldest, a look Lily was thankful to never had been on the receiving end of often because Petunia shrank back in her seat like a kicked puppy.

"Have fun, dear, I'm glad you're getting out. Why haven't you seen any school friends until now?" her mother asked.

"They, uh, have been on holiday," Lily said, hemming and hawing to avoid blurting out, _"I'm going to go yell at or go hook up with a bloke, don't wait up."_ "Just got back. Figured we could catch up before returning for term. It's always a bit crazed."

"King's Cross by eleven for the train, right darling?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Oh, no, I was made Head Girl, so I get to go directly to school this year!" Her parents were excited, as she expected, jumping up her hug her while Petunia (who had never amounted to much at her muggle college) scowled fiercely in the back.

"Truly wonderful, darling, go and enjoy," Mrs. Evans said with a warm smile. Lily returned to the foyer, checked the front window to make sure the lawn and sidewalk were clear of neighbors, and Apparted with a loud crack.

* * *

Sirius Black was, at the moment, three things: bored, hungry, and horny.

Finding a a decent girl to shag would take care of two of those, he supposed. The latter required him to leave his new-minted bedroom in the Potter household and make his way down to the kitchen.

Or he could just Summon something. Given the whole fact that he was a Wizard and all.

Or...

"James! Oi! James! _PRONGS!_"

The door flew open and a disheveled, sleepy James stumbled in, clad only in Snitch-print boxers, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Mate, what the hell, I was sleeping," James grumbled.

"I'd have normally assumed you had a bird in there but you've been on some weird celibacy kick all summer," Sirius said.

James fell back onto the chaise in the corner of the room, yawning loudly before replying, "Just because I'm not shagging every Beauxbatons girl within a 5 mile radius does _not _mean I've sworn off girls."

"And refuse to tell me who she is. I contemplated nipping one of the letters you've been sending out, but I decided I was a better person than that."

"Look at you, Padfoot, rising above your normally dungeon-level standard of decency," James said sarcastically. "The girl's being a twat, anyway, refusing to talk to me."

Sirius stretched out, placing his hands behind his head as he said with a devilish grin, "It's okay, James, we can't all have my prowess in the boudoir."

This earned him a pillow chucked at his face.

"Why did I let you move in again?"

"_You _didn't, your saintly parents did, and because they couldn't bear to see their dearly beloved adopted son suffer any longer in the hellhole also known as my family home," Sirius said.

"They must see something in you I don't, than," James muttered. "Why did you bloody hell wake me up?"

"I'm hungry."

The next thing Sirius knew, he was hanging upside down by his left angle, the victim of James' very stealthy Levicorpus hex.

"Prongs! Let me down, mate!"

James called back a loud retort about where he could stick his wand before Sirius heard his bedroom door slam shut. He let himself down (he was a pro at the counter-jinx, given that he and Prongs had been hexing each other since the start of their relationship) before pulling on a t-shirt (he needed to get the house-elves to do his laundry, but James had said something to them, he was sure, they were still twitchy around him) before making his way into the hall, and down the grand staircase that connected the upper floor to the rest of the large Potter estate.

The Potter estate, despite not having the opulence and gloomy grandeur of the Black's, was much more to Sirius' liking; though large, with a look and decor that reminded one of a hunting lodge, it was homey and inviting. Mr. and Mrs. Potter, elderly and loving, had let James want for nothing through his childhood, a fact Sirius quietly envied. It wasn't about the material possessions (though the fact that James got a new broom for every birthday was beyond lucky and he wouldn't give Sirius a go, the git), the envy stemmed from the fact that James actually had people showing him affection and giving a damn about him growing up- once Sirius had made it quite clear to his parents that the pureblood shit was a load of bollocks...well, there went his face on the tapestry.

Sirius didn't even take one step into the kitchen before a batty old house elf was on top of him, shoving back out the doorway he had just entered.

"Gertrude doesn't let strangers in her kitchen, oh no she does." The house elf in question was quite old and had gone a bit batty, given that Sirius had been living there for close to three months now and went through same routine every day while trying to get something to eat.

"Gertrude, it's me, Sirius," he tried. "James' mate. I live here now. We fight over this every day."

There was no response, just Gertrude prodding Sirius with a large colander until he pulled his wand out from the pocket of his jeans, muttered "Accio" and snatched the Butterbeer that came flying out of the cabinet. Gertrude let out a grunt of protest but Sirius dodged her final jab and slinked out of the kitchen, mumbling under his breath, "Bloody mental."

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**I love writing Sirius. So much fun.**


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